[Dòmhnall] Tùr Lunnainn. B’ann an seo ann an seachd deug dà fhichead ’s a seachd a chosg an cogadh a bheatha do dhaoine eile.
[Dòmhnall] Air madainn fhuair, mhì-chàillear choisich Sìm Frìseal, fear de cheannardan Gàidhealach nan Seumasach, a-mach à seo, far an deigheadh a cheann a chur dheth. Bha Morair MacShimidh air pàigheadh mar-thà airson nataic a chuir e ri Teàrlach Èideard Stiùbhart le a chuid oighreachdan a chall. Nise a dh’aindeoin a chuid seòltachd bha an duine ris an canadh iad “An Sionnach” a’ dol a phàigheadh le a bheatha.
[Dòmhnall] Cha b’ ann a-mhàin a’ cur às do reubaltaich a bha na h-ùghdarrasan, bha bàs MhicShimidh gu bhith na rabhadh do chàch. Bhiodh e glic do Sheumasaich eile, ’s a mhac Sìm Òg nam measg, feart a thoirt. Bha Sìm Òg e fhèin anns a’ phrìosan, ach dìreach beagan mhìosan an dèidh bàs athar bha e a’ tòiseachadh a choimhead roimhe.
[Crisdean] Chaidh Sìm Òg, chaidh ionnsachadh gu mòr aig deas. Bha na daoine a tha sin, ged a bha iad Gàidhealach agus tha litrichean brèagha bho Shìm Òg ag ràdh “ge b’ e an rud gus an tèid an anail mu dheireadh àsam cha chaill mi a’ Ghàidhlig”. Ach aig an aon àm, bha iad gallda. Bha fios aige cò ris a bha e dreach Ghlaschu ’s Dhùn Èideann agus cuideachd Chìll Rìmhinn ged a bha sin na bu lugha, cò ris a bha iad coltach, dè bha daoine a’ sùileachadh, dè na h-aodaichean, dè leòm a bha iad ag iarraidh gus gum biodh seasamh aig duine nan lùib, fhios agad. Agus a-rithist air tàilleibh, cha robh na fearainn, cha robh iad air am fearann a chall às dèidh Bliadhna Theàrlaich, mar sin dh’fheumadh e a bhith ceart cinnteach, fhios agad, gum faigheadh e a-staigh air an riaghaltas. Bheireadh an lagh, dhèanadh e pàirt dhen sin, ach dh’fheumadh e cuideachd ann an dòigh rudan a dhèanamh mar na rèisimeidean a thogail gus an gabhadh an riaghaltas a leisgeul agus leisgeul an teaghlaich.
[Dòmhnall] Chaidh iomadh rèisimeid Gàidhealach eile a thogail anns an aon dòigh. Mu àm Cogadh Napoleon bha iad a’ dèanamh an-àird an ceathramh cuid de dh’ Arm Bhreatainn. Ann an dà fhichead bliadhna, chaidh deich mìle duine às an Eilean Sgìtheanach a-mhàin dha na rèisimeidean ùra, barrachd air na tha a’ còmhnaidh anns an eilean uile gu lèir an-diugh, agus ’s ann mar a chaidh na rèisimeidean a-null thairis ann an seirbheis a’ chrùin a dh’fhàg gun do lean na mìltean Ghàidheal ’s gu dearbha coimhearsnachdan slàn a-nall iad nan imrich.
[Dòmhnall] Thog MacShimidh còrr air mìle gu leth saighdear far na h-oighreachd aige fhèin timcheall Inbhir Nis ’s às a’ Ghleann Mhòr. Bha làn fhios aige fhèin ’s aig na cinn-cinnidh eile a bha cho dealasach a’ dèanamh rèisimeidean dè bha fa-near dhaibh. Bha iad airson an cliù ’s an inbhe a chaill iad ri linn an dìleasachd dha na Seumasaich fhaighinn air ais ’s bha iad ag iarraidh seilbh fhaighinn a-rithist air na fearainn a chaidh a thoirt bhuapa. Ach dha na Gàidheil chumanta a bha na h-uaislean a’ trusadh dhan arm cha robh roghainn ann.
[Chrisella] Nan deigheadh roghainn a thoirt dhut mur adèanadh tu rudeigin mar sin gun cailleadh tu do thalamh, agus bha an comas a bha sin ann, bha an cumhachd a bha sin ann a’ dearbhadh mur an deigheadh tu dhan arm, mur a dèanadh tu, mur am b’ e nòs ann an dòigh a dhol a shabaid gun deigheadh am fearann a thoirt bhuat. Tha mi a’ smaoineachadh cuideachd gu bheil, an dèidh àm Chùil Lodair tha cùisean ag atharrachadh nuair a thathas a’ feuchainn ris an fhearann a leasachadh. Thathas ag iarraidh tacan nas motha, thathas a’ feumachadh tacan nas motha ma thathas a’ dol a dhèanamh airgead às an fhearann. ’S e dòigh eadar-dhealaichte air a bhith a’ tuathanas a th’ ann dheth. Mar sin dheth chan eil an uimhir de dhaoine gu bhith an sàs anns an tuathanachas agus tha na mic as òige mar gum biodh mar as trice a’ feumachadh cosnadh eile, agus tha an t-arm a’ toirt an comas sin dhaibh.
Chaidh am prògram seo, Na h-Eilthirich, a chraoladh an toiseach ann an 1999.
[Donald] The tower of London. It is here in 1747 that the war cost other men’s lives.
[Donald] On a cold, unpleasant morning Simon Fraser, one of the Jabobites’ Highland chiefs, walked out from here, where he would be beheaded. Lord Lovat had already paid for supporting Bonnie Prince Charlie by losing his estates. Now despite his ingenuity the man called “The Fox” was going to pay with his life.
[Donald] It wasn’t just that the authorities were killing rebels, Lord Lovat’s death was going to be a warning to others. It would be wise for other Jacobites, including his son Young Simon, to take notice. Young Simon himself was in prison, but just a few months after his father’s death he was starting to look ahead.
[Christian] Young Simon was, he was largely educated in the south. Those people were, although they were Highland and there are beautiful letters from Young Simon saying “until my final breath I won’t lose my Gaelic”. But at the same time they were lowland. He knew what ways of Glasgow and Edinburgh and also St. Andrews, although that was smaller, what they were like, what people expected, what the dress was like, what they demanded from a man would have a standing amongst them, you know. And again because, the land wasn’t, they hadn’t lost their land after the Jacobite Rising, he would have needed to be certain, you know, that he could get in tow with the government. The law would give, it would do part of that, but he would have also needed, in a sense, to do something like raise the regiments so that the government would accept his apology and that of his family.
[Donald] Lots of Highland regiments were raised in the same way. Around the time of the Napoleonic War they made up a quarter of the British Army. In 40 years, 10,000 men from the Isle of Skye joined the new regiments, more than live on the island as a whole today, and it is because of the regiments’ overseas’ service to the crown that left the thousands of Gaels and indeed whole communities abroad as emigrants.
[Donald] Lord Lovat raised more than 1,500 soldiers from his own estate around Inverness and from the Great Glen. He was well aware, as were the clan chiefs who were diligently creating regiments, of what lay ahead of them. They wanted to reclaim their reputation and status that they had lost through their loyalty to the Jacobites and they wanted to repossess the land that was taken from them. But for the common Gael that the nobility were recruiting into the army there was no choice.
[Chrisella] If you were given a choice that that if you wouldn’t do something that you would lose your land, and there was that ability, there was power ensuring that if you wouldn’t join the army, that if you wouldn’t do, if there wasn’t compliance in a sense to go and fight that the land would be taken from you. I also think that, after the time of the Battle of Culloden things change when the land is being reformed. Bigger tacks are wanted, bigger tacks are required if money is going to be made from the land. It is a different style of farming for them. Therefore there is going to be less people involved in the farming and the youngest sons as it were usually needed other employment, and the army gave them that opportunity.
This programme, Na h-Eilthirich, was first broadcast in 1999.
[Dòmhnall] Tùr Lunnainn. B’ann an seo ann an seachd deug dà fhichead ’s a seachd a chosg an cogadh a bheatha do dhaoine eile.
[Dòmhnall] Air madainn fhuair, mhì-chàillear choisich Sìm Frìseal, fear de cheannardan Gàidhealach nan Seumasach, a-mach à seo, far an deigheadh a cheann a chur dheth. Bha Morair MacShimidh air pàigheadh mar-thà airson nataic a chuir e ri Teàrlach Èideard Stiùbhart le a chuid oighreachdan a chall. Nise a dh’aindeoin a chuid seòltachd bha an duine ris an canadh iad “An Sionnach” a’ dol a phàigheadh le a bheatha.
[Dòmhnall] Cha b’ ann a-mhàin a’ cur às do reubaltaich a bha na h-ùghdarrasan, bha bàs MhicShimidh gu bhith na rabhadh do chàch. Bhiodh e glic do Sheumasaich eile, ’s a mhac Sìm Òg nam measg, feart a thoirt. Bha Sìm Òg e fhèin anns a’ phrìosan, ach dìreach beagan mhìosan an dèidh bàs athar bha e a’ tòiseachadh a choimhead roimhe.
[Crisdean] Chaidh Sìm Òg, chaidh ionnsachadh gu mòr aig deas. Bha na daoine a tha sin, ged a bha iad Gàidhealach agus tha litrichean brèagha bho Shìm Òg ag ràdh “ge b’ e an rud gus an tèid an anail mu dheireadh àsam cha chaill mi a’ Ghàidhlig”. Ach aig an aon àm, bha iad gallda. Bha fios aige cò ris a bha e dreach Ghlaschu ’s Dhùn Èideann agus cuideachd Chìll Rìmhinn ged a bha sin na bu lugha, cò ris a bha iad coltach, dè bha daoine a’ sùileachadh, dè na h-aodaichean, dè leòm a bha iad ag iarraidh gus gum biodh seasamh aig duine nan lùib, fhios agad. Agus a-rithist air tàilleibh, cha robh na fearainn, cha robh iad air am fearann a chall às dèidh Bliadhna Theàrlaich, mar sin dh’fheumadh e a bhith ceart cinnteach, fhios agad, gum faigheadh e a-staigh air an riaghaltas. Bheireadh an lagh, dhèanadh e pàirt dhen sin, ach dh’fheumadh e cuideachd ann an dòigh rudan a dhèanamh mar na rèisimeidean a thogail gus an gabhadh an riaghaltas a leisgeul agus leisgeul an teaghlaich.
[Dòmhnall] Chaidh iomadh rèisimeid Gàidhealach eile a thogail anns an aon dòigh. Mu àm Cogadh Napoleon bha iad a’ dèanamh an-àird an ceathramh cuid de dh’ Arm Bhreatainn. Ann an dà fhichead bliadhna, chaidh deich mìle duine às an Eilean Sgìtheanach a-mhàin dha na rèisimeidean ùra, barrachd air na tha a’ còmhnaidh anns an eilean uile gu lèir an-diugh, agus ’s ann mar a chaidh na rèisimeidean a-null thairis ann an seirbheis a’ chrùin a dh’fhàg gun do lean na mìltean Ghàidheal ’s gu dearbha coimhearsnachdan slàn a-nall iad nan imrich.
[Dòmhnall] Thog MacShimidh còrr air mìle gu leth saighdear far na h-oighreachd aige fhèin timcheall Inbhir Nis ’s às a’ Ghleann Mhòr. Bha làn fhios aige fhèin ’s aig na cinn-cinnidh eile a bha cho dealasach a’ dèanamh rèisimeidean dè bha fa-near dhaibh. Bha iad airson an cliù ’s an inbhe a chaill iad ri linn an dìleasachd dha na Seumasaich fhaighinn air ais ’s bha iad ag iarraidh seilbh fhaighinn a-rithist air na fearainn a chaidh a thoirt bhuapa. Ach dha na Gàidheil chumanta a bha na h-uaislean a’ trusadh dhan arm cha robh roghainn ann.
[Chrisella] Nan deigheadh roghainn a thoirt dhut mur adèanadh tu rudeigin mar sin gun cailleadh tu do thalamh, agus bha an comas a bha sin ann, bha an cumhachd a bha sin ann a’ dearbhadh mur an deigheadh tu dhan arm, mur a dèanadh tu, mur am b’ e nòs ann an dòigh a dhol a shabaid gun deigheadh am fearann a thoirt bhuat. Tha mi a’ smaoineachadh cuideachd gu bheil, an dèidh àm Chùil Lodair tha cùisean ag atharrachadh nuair a thathas a’ feuchainn ris an fhearann a leasachadh. Thathas ag iarraidh tacan nas motha, thathas a’ feumachadh tacan nas motha ma thathas a’ dol a dhèanamh airgead às an fhearann. ’S e dòigh eadar-dhealaichte air a bhith a’ tuathanas a th’ ann dheth. Mar sin dheth chan eil an uimhir de dhaoine gu bhith an sàs anns an tuathanachas agus tha na mic as òige mar gum biodh mar as trice a’ feumachadh cosnadh eile, agus tha an t-arm a’ toirt an comas sin dhaibh.
Chaidh am prògram seo, Na h-Eilthirich, a chraoladh an toiseach ann an 1999.
[Donald] The tower of London. It is here in 1747 that the war cost other men’s lives.
[Donald] On a cold, unpleasant morning Simon Fraser, one of the Jabobites’ Highland chiefs, walked out from here, where he would be beheaded. Lord Lovat had already paid for supporting Bonnie Prince Charlie by losing his estates. Now despite his ingenuity the man called “The Fox” was going to pay with his life.
[Donald] It wasn’t just that the authorities were killing rebels, Lord Lovat’s death was going to be a warning to others. It would be wise for other Jacobites, including his son Young Simon, to take notice. Young Simon himself was in prison, but just a few months after his father’s death he was starting to look ahead.
[Christian] Young Simon was, he was largely educated in the south. Those people were, although they were Highland and there are beautiful letters from Young Simon saying “until my final breath I won’t lose my Gaelic”. But at the same time they were lowland. He knew what ways of Glasgow and Edinburgh and also St. Andrews, although that was smaller, what they were like, what people expected, what the dress was like, what they demanded from a man would have a standing amongst them, you know. And again because, the land wasn’t, they hadn’t lost their land after the Jacobite Rising, he would have needed to be certain, you know, that he could get in tow with the government. The law would give, it would do part of that, but he would have also needed, in a sense, to do something like raise the regiments so that the government would accept his apology and that of his family.
[Donald] Lots of Highland regiments were raised in the same way. Around the time of the Napoleonic War they made up a quarter of the British Army. In 40 years, 10,000 men from the Isle of Skye joined the new regiments, more than live on the island as a whole today, and it is because of the regiments’ overseas’ service to the crown that left the thousands of Gaels and indeed whole communities abroad as emigrants.
[Donald] Lord Lovat raised more than 1,500 soldiers from his own estate around Inverness and from the Great Glen. He was well aware, as were the clan chiefs who were diligently creating regiments, of what lay ahead of them. They wanted to reclaim their reputation and status that they had lost through their loyalty to the Jacobites and they wanted to repossess the land that was taken from them. But for the common Gael that the nobility were recruiting into the army there was no choice.
[Chrisella] If you were given a choice that that if you wouldn’t do something that you would lose your land, and there was that ability, there was power ensuring that if you wouldn’t join the army, that if you wouldn’t do, if there wasn’t compliance in a sense to go and fight that the land would be taken from you. I also think that, after the time of the Battle of Culloden things change when the land is being reformed. Bigger tacks are wanted, bigger tacks are required if money is going to be made from the land. It is a different style of farming for them. Therefore there is going to be less people involved in the farming and the youngest sons as it were usually needed other employment, and the army gave them that opportunity.
This programme, Na h-Eilthirich, was first broadcast in 1999.